Success Story: Tatweer Launches Scholarship
Program for Studies in Public Management
Scholarship program seeks to bolster civil
service corps
March, 2007
To help strengthen Iraq’s civil service corps,
Tatweer, the USAID-funded program for
national capacity development, will award up to
75 scholarships for Masters or certificate-level
studies in public management.
Announced in November 2006, the Tatweer
scholarship program awarded six scholarships
in its first round, securing placements for
scholarship recipients at American University in
Cairo’s School of Business.
Scholarship recipients receive full tuition,
housing and a cost-of-living stipend. In return,
they must agree to complete four years of
service in the Iraqi government through
placement services by the Ministry of Planning
and Development Cooperation.
According to one scholarship winner, “This is an
exciting and unique opportunity for all of us. A
year ago, we would not have imagined this was
in our future.”
As Tatweer targets civil servants, the
application process now allows 10 key
ministries to nominate up to 15 candidates
each. Iraqis from the private sector and beyond
are also eligible and encouraged to apply.
Following the application period, candidates are
subject to a rigorous selection process that
includes personal one-on-one interviews as well
interviews with bi-national technical and
selection committees, each comprised of four
Iraqis and four Americans.
To ensure a diverse pool of candidates
representing Iraq’s geographic and ethnic
mosaic, the Tatweer team is reaching out to
Iraqis nationwide through the ministries,
Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs), and
the Prime Minister’s Office and Council of
Ministers (PMO/ComSec).
Radio, television and print advertising have also
been used to promote the scholarship program.
New with the second round, which began in
early February 2007 and is expected to
conclude by the end of March, the program has
been expanded to give scholarship recipients
more choice about where to study.
In addition to the American University in Cairo,
scholarship winners can now choose from other
universities within the region or in the United
States.
In addition, Tatweer is working to identify
regional institutions that offer Arabic language
programs in Public Management. This would
ensure that qualified candidates who lack
English language skills can also take advantage
of an invaluable opportunity to enhance their
skills and contribute to the development of Iraq.
For more information on Tatweer, visit www.tatweer-iraq
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